Abstract
KAMEDA SEIKA CO., LTD. is a Japanese rice cracker company founded in 1946. After World War Ⅱ, men could drink Sake to drown their stresses, but women and children had no such joy. The founder wanted to create something fun for both women and children using rice from Niigata, which is a major rice producing area in Japan. He then started a business of processing surplus rice into rice syrup, receiving a processing fee. After that, the company continued to research rice processing techniques and developed mass-production methods for rice crackers and currently holds the number one spot in market share for rice crackers in Japan. Last year, the company set its vision of becoming a rice innovation company and is working to create added value using rice. As a part of this initiative, the company will continue to introduce rice processing technologies such as 1) rice cracker manufacturing technology, 2) low-protein rice for CKD patients, and 3) rice flour bread that is free from the top 28 allergens designated in Japan. In addition to rice processing techniques, research into the human health benefits from functional ingredients derived from rice, such as 4) rice derived lactic acid bacteria and 5) rice peptides will also be introduced.
